Saturday - Time to board the Oasis of the Seas

We wake and both glance at each other and say "today is the day".

We shower and head out for breakfast at Joe's Diner again, then a stop at Starbucks (boy it is busy in here when there are a lot of ships in port).

We can't really get on before noon and we are not in any real rush.  So we relax in the room and check out around 11:45 and head down to the lobby to see about getting one of the shuttles.  The hotel has a service (I believe it is contracted out) that will take you to the port for $6 per person.  They transport everyone in vans every 15 minutes or so.  They hold around 10 people and they fill it up and go stopping at all the piers.  Since we didn't make a reservation ahead of time we would have to wait until 12:15 to get a shuttle.  We thank them and head to the front of the hotel to the taxi stand where a taxi is waiting.  We get in and we are off and at the pier at 11:55 and all for a total of $10 which included the tip.  So I guess if you want to get there faster, and cheaper, take a taxi.

The terminal is huge and very well laid out and easy to maneuver.  This is a dedicated terminal just for the Oasis and the Allure and it shows.  Right away the signs and art work around peak our excitement. 

We are directed thru the normal security scanning (no problem with the two bottles of champagne), then put into the row for our deck that has only one other couple ahead of us.  We proceed to the check in counter and the gentleman give us the health form to fill out.  It is basically the same as Princess' form but much nicer filling it out here at the check in then trying to fill out in a line.  He takes our passports, our credit card and our boarding pass.  Note everything was filled out on line ahead of time and saved lots of time.  He then takes our pictures for security right here, love this and much more efficient.  However once we had this done when boarding the Golden last Sept in Vancouver.

We are directed to the photography station where they have at least four stations set up, possibly more and they swipe our sail and sign card and we pose together, and separately.  The card swipe makes it easier to locate your pics later.

Led upstairs where there is a bit of a line but it moves quite fast and we Bing our card thru security and we are led up the gangway.  This ship has two gangways that open up on deck 5 the main promenade.  In all we are on board the ship at 12:15 - very very efficient, I am impressed.

Boardwalk view

We are on board the Oasis and we enter right near the antique car and I drop my mouth, WOW we both say.  Turn our head one way and say WOW again, turn the head the other way and WOW - is this really a ship?  HUGE and boy there are a lot of people here right now!  But it is crowded in the public areas right now because we can't get to our cabins before 1 pm so everyone is wandering with their carry ons.

I see a station set up for the wine package and I decide I may as well buy it now (this ends up being a bad idea buying it here in the end - stay tuned).  We get the 7 bottle wine package for $180 plus 15% gratuity and we are given a paper receipt and told to take to the dining room tonight to get the package.... okay.

Since I had purchased the Central Park dining package I had to now go and make our reservations for our other two restaurants (Chops and 150 Central Park).  Up to deck 8 -- Central Park and we had no problem at all getting reservations for either of these locations for any of the days we wanted, but note we were there right away, places did fill up as the day went on. 

The Park Cafe is right here too and we had heard so many great things about their sandwiches so we headed that way, but the line is out the door and there is not a seat to sit anywhere!  We wander down the Central Park a little more to Vintages (their wine bar that offers tapas for a fee) and sit down and I get a glass of wine and a plate of bread with cheese $3 for the tapas, $10 for the wine.  We run into Fran and Curt here and catch up with them.  We sailed with them four years ago on the Emerald and when we heard we would be sailing with them again we arranged to meet up.

Vintages

Just after 1 pm we head to the cabin.  When we walk in right away we like it.  Bernie see the Romance package on the table by the couch.  It consisted of the Champagne, four mini cupcakes, strawberries, but he is wondering who sent it?  There is no card with it?  No information.... I keep looking but I finally have to tell him it is from me and I try and recall what I had written in the card (my romantic side coming out).  He smiles.... points for me.  There is suppose to be more items in the package (breakfast in bed, picture, picture frame, canapes, sweets) but no idea how we are suppose to get these items.    We will wait to see if anything comes to the cabin about it tonight.

Now back to the cabin.  Here are my views of the cabin.

PROS

 - large flat screen tv
 - couch
 - lights around make up mirror
 - lots of little shelves to store lots of stuff
 - large balcony and balcony floor is nice to walk on
 - nice lighting through out cabin (night lights, and dimmed light in bathroom for nighttime)
 - big shower
 - lots of plugs (although hard to get at under the desk, but Allure corrected this)
 - closet has two bars to accommodate two rows of clothes
 - bed is very very comfortable, including nice pillows
 - room is very quiet, don't hear our neighbours or their tv at all
 - great magazine/paper holder

NEGATIVES

 - no ipod docking station (as was described)
 - no light on these balconies (there are some lights on the ocean facing balconies) I like to read out here at night
 - closet is small and so close to the bed that it makes it hard to access especially shoes at bottom of closet
 - sink/counter is very very low, and sink is small
 - no robes provided
 - have to ask for conditioner/shampoo/lotion not provided automatically
 - Central Park balcony can get noisy when Caribbean Steel Drum band plays even with door closed
 - it isn't private, you can see into opposite cabins
 - no mailbox or name tag on cabin

Here is some video I took of our cabin, the first one is our bathroom and the second is the rest of the cabin.  The video was taken a different day - oh and mind the mess.

Our cabin third from left, two down
 

Our bags are not here yet so we decide to wander and explore the ship.  It has been a long time since we have done this since most ships we are on we have either been on them before or the layout is so similar to other ships that we don't need to explore.  This is exciting.

We first head to the Park Cafe as it has quieted down and we get a nice lunch.  I get the famous roast beef on a bun and Waldorf salad.  Bernie has a panini and Greek salad and we both have a bag of chips.  Liked the food and loved the chips - a definite treat, something we don't get at home often.

Central Park Cafe

 

Central Park Cafe

Apparently the ship is full, and everywhere we look we see a much younger demographic and lots of families, lots of kids.  We feel very comfortable with the age of the passengers.

Announcement comes that Muster Drill will be soon and we make our way down to deck 5 and the Champagne Bar (our Muster Station).  Beautiful lounge!  As we enter they scan our cards.  What is nice is we don't have to get our life jackets like on Princess, which makes things less crowded and especially when it is done it isn't a mass rush to return the life jackets to the cabin. 

Champagne Bar, very nice Muster location!  That tv straight ahead is what we tried to watch

We are directed to watch one of the two video screen (large TV) for a video on what to do in an emergency.  But the place is packed and people are standing all around me and I can't see the screens for the life of me.  We are told you can also watch the video in your cabin.... okay no problem for me but I would think for first time cruisers it could be handy to actually practice putting it on and off and explaining emergency procedures. 

A couple beside us is on a back to back and they said they HAD to go to the Muster again.  Really, that sucks and I am thankful that is not something Princess does.  Considering how little we learned here and it is the exact same muster station seems a little redundant.

We head over to the Starbucks to get our first latte at sea from Starbucks, okay I know I a little nuts, but that is my one addiction, okay maybe my second, cruising is my first.  The prices for the drinks are the same as on land, the outlet looks exactly like one at home they even have the same pastries, of course all for a price.  Also a 15% gratuity is added to all orders automatically.  They have a machine similar to a debit machine that you swipe your card then you are given the option to add even more of a tip than the auto 15%, and for some reason I felt bad when I said no to the additional tip, personally I can't believe they would even ask this. 

Bernie paying with the debit like machine

 

Starbucks on the Promenade

We head up on deck for sailaway, hard to find a quieter place, the open decks are busy but not crazy, we head aft to watch sailaway.

Stay tuned for our evening activities.

Thursday Dec 6 - Flying to Florida

Our flight is at 11 and we arrive at the airport around 9:30.  We are flying with Frontier airlines, a first for us.  As soon as we come to the check in we see that all the kiosks are not working, there is a large queue to see an agent.  We are only checking one bag each and the price for each bag is $20. 

One thing we like with Frontier, when you are at the gate, if you do not have a large bag that has to go in the overhead you can get on as an Express person.  They call the mobility impaired people then families then Express.  Nice little perk.

Sadly the flight was not as enjoyable.  First leg was to Denver, not a long flight but with a four year old behind you that feels the chair in front of her is her own personal kicking bag can cause some issues.  Then about 45 before landing she throws up, thankfully it was not projectile vomit but still the smell was harsh.  I feel bad for the little girl and of course the parents tried to do as much as they could but boy this day is not going well.

We land in Denver and we have just under three hours to kill.  We wander around and check out a few of the shops.  Bernie treats himself to a new set of Bose headphones and we look for a restaurant that we can sit down at and order and relax and pass the time. 

After a good meal - and of course a big glass of wine for me, I am relaxed.  We don't see a Starbucks in this terminal but are told if you go to the next terminal there is one.  We head down to the tram to catch it to the next terminal.  As we head down the stairs we see a tram there so we run in.  But as soon as we take off I realize we are going in the wrong direction.  We are heading to the main terminal, no biggy I figure just get off and catch the next one.  BUT!!!  As the doors open and everyone files out, including us I realize oh no we are heading out of the secure area! 

Nothing we can (we should of just stayed on and exited the other doors once they opened and crossed the platform, but that is hindsight).  We are in the main terminal, and well security again!  We go thru the process again, and in the states you have to still take your shoes off so it is even more cumbersome!   But oh well wine still is keeping me in good spirits and we make our way thru and back on the tram and we look at each other and say "no Starbucks, we are just going to our next gate".  Thankfully we had lots of time otherwise it could of really have been a problem.

We arrive into Fort Lauderdale on time (just before midnight) and our luggage arrives quickly and we grab a taxi and are at the hotel ten minutes later at a cost of $15 which included the tip.

We booked the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale on 17th Street  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/fllbr-renaissance-fort-lauderdale-hotel/

We stayed here once before about three years ago for one night.  Bernie loved it and really wanted to stay here again and we got it thur Hotwire.com for a $100 a night.  We check in and are assigned a room on the third floor. 

Sadly the room did not live up to the standard that we remember and certainly not a four star.  Our issues:

- glasses are turned upside down and placed on a cardboard coaster (similar to what you find in bars) good idea, but the coasters are old and dirty and one is even torn.

- Room is very noisy, the venting system is loud and boy oh boy when you flush the toilet you will know it and it goes on for awhile! 

- no robes in the room, considering it's regular hotel price per night is around $200 a robe would be a nice option.

- alarm clock is the older cheap plastic ones and the clear plastic cover is cracked.  Phone is also old (similar to a type I had in the 80s)

- water pressure in this room is pathetic (but the room we get on the post cruise visit has better pressure so not sure why this one was so bad).

- one of the towels had a long black streak down the middle of it - gross!!

Overall this is not a horrible hotel but definitely not a 4 star, more like a 3 star.  Staff at the front desk are very helpful and bellhop was great.  Sadly housekeeping is definitely short staffed.  We saw only one housekeeper on our floor and she was busy and I know that they don't get enough time to clean the rooms due to cutbacks.  But sadly this is the most important thing about any hotel. 

Okay enough about the hotel.  One of the best features of this hotel is that they are in a great location right on 17th street. 

Starbucks is a block away and we like to head to Joe's diner for breakfast (located right beside the Publix and Total Wine) http://www.myjoescafe.com/    Bernie loves it here as he can get his oatmeal, I love it as it has free wifi, and the service is fast, efficient, and reasonably priced. 

We walk over to the Total Wine and get two bottles of champagne (we can now bring on champagne/wine on to RCI ships).  And then we walk over to the Starbucks on 17th Street for our fix.

While sitting there we decide to get pedicures from Harbour Nails which is right beside the Starbucks.  The place is busy and we don't have to wait too long, but the pedicure was not a good one, certainly nothing that I am use to at home and the polish wasn't even done evenly.  Cost was $25 but don't think we will be coming back; however the level of service might be because of how busy it was too.

We drop off our stuff in the room and decide to catch the Sun Trolley to the beach and do some walking and sightseeing.  http://suntrolley.com/  The route that goes along 17th street continues over the bridge and along the beach, up past Las Olas (where you can get off and catch another trolley that will take you all the way to the Riverwalk) or stay on and take the trolley to Galleria Mall.  The fare is .50 a ride per person, or $2 for a day pass.  We get off just past Las Olas and check out some of the stores, the beach, the people.  I end up getting a pair of flip flops that are so darn comfortable.  We also stop and get a bite to eat and drink and people watch.

We catch the regular bus back to 17th street and we go to Ross Store to see what they have.

Tonight we are meeting up with some friends that we sailed to South America with.  We head to Carlos and Pepe's for a nice Mexican meal and catch up on what has been happening.

We are in bed relatively early, still trying to get use to the time change.

Just About to Head Out

Tomorrow is the big day.  We officially start our vacation tomorrow.  When we were looking at airfare for this trip we researched our options.  Fly out of Vancouver (way too expensive for an international flight) or fly out of Seattle (much cheaper).  Bellingham is an option too but the price was very similar to Seattle and would of entailed an extra flight and a lot longer travel time.

First we booked this trip with Best Price Cruises www.bestpricecruises.com/ quite a while ago at got if for $800 for an inside cabin (later upgraded to a Central Park balcony for $20 more each).  Now this price is a lot higher than any price we have ever paid for a Caribbean Cruise per diem.  But it is Oasis and it does seem to warrant a higher price, and they are filling the ship.  I will also note that this was one of the cheapest prices we had seen for any sailing on this ship all year.  Best Price also gave us a $60 on board credit, something that if we booked directly with RCI we would not of gotten.

Back to the airfare.  We always use Kayak.com to search for flights.  And the best price came thru flying Frontier Airlines (have never flown them) going thru Denver, and returning with United via Houston.  Total cost for two was $618, not a bad price considering we return just when the holiday travel gets going.  Downside was we had to fly a later flight that doesn't get into Fort Lauderdale till just before midnight (time change doesn't help - 3 hours forward).

We looked for a deal to park our car in Seattle.  Normally the place we always book it was our first option.  They have a great monthly rate that we always take advantage of but this trip was only going to need 11 days parking at the rate to park at this place was $118!  Wow only $40 more for the monthly rate.  We started brainstorming ideas and options. 

We started looking at hotels that packaged parking.  I booked the Marriott Towne Place Suites.  They had a deal of a nights accommodation and 14 nights parking for a price $149.  So for $31 more we get parking and a nights accommodation.  Easy decision we went with this option.  We will have a nice evening, wake up and enjoy their complimentary breakfast and then catch the complimentary shuttle to the airport.

After we land in Fort Lauderdale we will head to one of our favorite hotels.  The Renaissance Fort Lauderdale on 17th Street right across from the entrance to Port Everglades.  www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/fllbr-renaissance-fort-lauderdale-hotel/

We booked this hotel thru Hotwire.com   It was the first time I had used Hotwire, normally we use Priceline and we really tried to secure a room with Priceline, bidding 4 Star in this downtown area (knowing that the Renaissance was the only hotel in that category).  We bid and bid and went up as high as $130 and the bid was never accepted.  Finally I did some research on Hotwire and saw that I could get a four star in downtown Fort Lauderdale (all my reserach showed they were describing the Renaissance) for $99.   So I booked it for two nights for $99 each night.  Heck if they would of accepted my Priceline offer they would of got more money out of me.  Oh well their loss.  We also booked same hotel for one night post cruise too for the same price.

We will be taking a taxi to the hotel from the airport... price will be about $17 plus tip so for around $20 total, beats taking cruiseline shuttles, or booking cruiseline hotel pacakges that charge per person what I paid.

We love this location for a hotel.  Starbucks is close by, we can also walk to the Publix, Wallgreens, Total Wine, our favorite Dinner for breakfast, and our favorite Mexican Carlos and Peppes. 

As I said we get in very late Thursday so I called the hotel to inform them of late arrival (although room is confirmed and allready paid for so they can't give it away) I just wanted to confirm with them and also to request a quiet room that does not have a connecting door to another room.  One of my pet peeves listening to neighbours as if I am sitting right on the bed beside them, and them of course hearing us too.

Friends will be flying in on Friday to also sail (but different ship) and we have arranged to meet up with them and go for dinner that night.  We will be going to Carlos & Pepe's for Mexican www.carlosandpepesfl.com

Now for the cruise, as you know allready we are sailing on Royal Caribbean for the first time.  We have been informed that even though we can board around noon we can not access our cabins until 1 pm.  So we are not in any rush to get on board and will wait until around 1 pm to arrive at the pier.

Yesterday I did something I haven't done in years.  I pre ordered something as a gift for Bernie.  I love the idea of doing this, but since Princess' onboard gifts are so limited and they don't make it easy to order as you still have to print out form and fax it or call the 1-800 number I have never done it in the 33 cruises with Princess.  But with RCI you can surf their page for an abundance of gifts including flowers, clothes, beverages, food, decorations, you name it.  I especially liked all the romance items and at reasonable prices too.

So I ended up getting the Romance Package that is $100 -  this is what it entails

Classic Romance Package                                             $100.00 CAD Item 1061 This package includes a bottle of chilled Domaine Chandon Champagne and Royal Caribbean delicious vanilla cupcakes upon arrival; a tray of elegant canapés before dinner, and delicious petit fours after dinner on the first formal evening; breakfast in bed one morning during the cruise; and a silver-framed, 8" x 10" keepsake portrait.

I hope he likes it, he really is doing this trip because I wanted to do it.  He really is not one to go outside the box when he is comfortable in the box.  He also hated the idea of flying so far for a short week's vacation.  When it takes a whole day to go and come back it does eat up a lot of vacation time.  So I wanted to thank him for agreeing and that I appreciate him.

Tonight we are gathering last minute items, really trying to scale back cause it is a shorter vacation and I have to keep reminding myself -- really Vickie you are not going to wear, use, or want this -- we are forcing ourselves to only bring a smaller suitcase each. 

Tomorrow we will head out to drive down to Seattle stopping at some of the shops looking for some deals.  With hopes of getting to the hotel around 4ish.

As I mentioned on my facebook fan page "Cruising Princess Cruiseline with Vickie"  I won't have the free internet package that I normally get with Princess so I won't be doing a live thread but will be taking notes and when I return home I will post a day by day account of our trip and what we did and where we went and what we thought.

But right now I am excited to try something different, feels odd to be going on a ship I have no experience with or the line.  But I have a very open mind and make lemonade out of the most bitter lemons if that is what I am given, but I am sure this lemonade will be sweet.

Fort Lauderdale Here we come - January 8

Seattle to Fort Lauderdale

We are up early, of course neither of slept well. We never do, it is either excitement or strange environment, or afraid to sleep in and miss flight. But it happens every year.

We get the car from the parking lot, load up the bags and head over to Seatac parking to park the car for the three weeks. They have a great long term parking rate. We love that you park your car and you take your keys. The shuttle comes to you, loads the bags and you are off in a flash to the airport. And when you return the shuttles run so often you don't have to phone them to pick you up, they just show up, and deliver you right to your car. In total we parked there for 3 weeks plus 2 days and the total cost was $149!

Check in was a little slow, not all the check in stations were open. I still wonder what is the bonus of checking in online prior, it certainly doesn't save time. While waiting in the queue two younger women were directly behind us and one was so loud (now remember this is 430 am - where does she get her energy), and her topic of conversation was really not appropriate. She kept going on about drinking, boyfriends, other friends boyfriends, how drunk she got.... All I kept thinking was "please don't be on our flight". If she was on our flight we didn't hear her, so I doubt she was on our flight.

We cleared security, a lot smoother than we did last year, and luckily because we were travelling within the US and not Canada to the US we were allowed to bring a carry on. A quick stop at Starbucks for my espresso and then we head to the gate.

This time we flew Delta to Fort Lauderdale via Atlanta (total cost $260 US each). When we touched down in Atlanta I was shocked to see snow on the ground. "What it snows here" We have about a two hour layover so we decided to get a bite to eat. As we are walking this woman cuts me off to get on the escalator and she starts talking loudly to her friend, who is behind me... and guess who it is. Yup the same two women who were in the check in line in Seattle. I stayed close, so I could overhear where they were travelling to, thankfully they were not going to Fort Lauderdale. We are freezing in Atlanta, guess we were not really prepared for colder weather here and the airport is freezing, can't wait to get to warmer climates.

Because of the weather we are delayed a bit (an hour) and was even more shocked to see some planes needed to get deiced!

We touch down in Fort Lauderdale and we go get our bags, and suddenly the turnstile stops and there are no more bags. But there are over a hundred of us still waiting for their bags too. We go to the counter upstairs to inquire and to put a claim in. The lady states that there was a human error and a large shipment of bags never made it on the flight. The bags may come in on a later flight or overnight and will be delivered to our hotel. We quickly glance the boards to see the next flight for Atlanta isn't for almost 3 hours so we decided to go to the hotel with just our carry on bags.

I booked the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/fllbr-renaissance-fort-lauderdale-hotel/ thru Priceline (got it for $100). The location is perfect, right across the street from Port Everglades.

We are exhausted, we drop the items off in the room and call our friends Larry and Amy who are from Orlando and will be travelling with us on the Crown. They are not too far away, they were hoping we could go for dinner, but because we were late they allready ate, but we met up just outside our favorite wine store (Total Wine) for a quick chat and to meet their daughter. We arrange to hook up once on board tomorrow.

Bernie and I picked up four bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne for the voyage. Then we go next door to Publix and pick up a few essentials, one being an cheap blow up air mattress to use on the beach in port.

Once we get back to the hotel I look at Bernie and say "I am not got to rest until I know I have our bags, so I am going to the airport and get the bags, hoping they are on the 9 pm flight". Thankfully the airport is very close, only a $15 taxi ride (including tip). I walk in the terminal and right away the bags are going around and voila, there are our three bags. I grab them and grab a cab and I am back at the hotel. The entire trip took about a half hour, and now I can rest easy knowing we have our bags.